Political and institutional relations

The Québec government has been active in Tokyo since 1973 when it opened its first government office in Asia. Today, the Québec Government Office in Tokyo continues to be the only Québec government office in Asia that holds the status of General Delegation.

Québec’s first official activity in Japan took place during the 1970 World Exposition in Osaka. Since then, some thirty ministerial missions, including three led by premiers, attest to the progress that has been made over the past four decades.

Japan is likewise well established in Québec. Its Consulate General in Montréal has been active for over five decades since it opened in 1965, and has consolidated cordial relations between Québec and Japan.

Chief Scientist, to attend the Science and Technology in Society Forum (October 2013)

Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, to attend the FOODEX food and beverage trade show (March 2012)

The Québec government has hosted several official Japanese visits to Québec, including:

Governor of Mie prefecture (September 2017)

Vice Governor of Kyoto (May 2016)

Mayor of Hiroshima (June 2015)

Governor of Kyoto prefecture (June 2012)

Decentralized cooperation

In recent years, the Québec Government Office in Tokyo has increased its efforts to develop relations with certain Japanese prefectures, including Kyoto, with which Québec signed a friendship and collaboration agreement (French only) in 2016, a first with a Japanese prefecture. This agreement establishes a framework for cooperation aimed at supporting concrete activities and projects in areas as varied as the economy, the environment, education, youth, culture and arts. A joint Québec-Kyoto working group has been tasked with evaluating projects submitted in public calls for projects. The first call for cooperation projects was held in spring 2017, and the first meeting of the working group took place in Kyoto in September 2017.

The cities of Hiroshima and Montréal have been twinned since 1998. 2015 was marked by commemorations of the 70th anniversary of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings. As a result, a motion was adopted in the Québec National Assembly on June 10, 2015 on the occasion of the Mayor of Hiroshima’s visit to Montréal.